Hard to see light at this tunnel's end

Vick's predicament a nightmare for NFL

July 19, 2007|By Sam Farmer, Tribune Newspapers: Los Angeles Times

In the hours that followed the federal indictment of Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick -- an alleged key player in a Virginia dogfighting operation -- the team's offices were flooded with angry phone calls, an Atlanta radio station switched to an all-Vick-all-the-time format, and the national Humane Society's computer server crashed under a deluge of e-mails.

At a time when NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is cracking down to make players more accountable for off-field transgressions, it was the image-conscious league's worst nightmare.

"This is going to be a significant blemish on the NFL no matter what," David Cornwell, a former assistant general counsel for the league, said Wednesday.

The Atlanta-based attorney added there was nothing the league's new boss "can say or do that's going to make this go away from an image perspective. I just don't believe in degrees of bad -- when it's bad it's bad. And this is bad."

Vick, 27, and three others are accused of violating federal laws against staging dogfights, gambling and engaging in unlawful activities across state lines. According to the indictment, they ran Bad Newz Kennels out of a property the quarterback owns in Surry, Va., and executed pit bulls -- by methods such as hanging, drowning, electrocution, shooting and beating -- that didn't perform well as fighters.

Vick could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

The NFL said in a statement that "all concerned should allow the legal process to determine the facts." In a separate statement, the Falcons said they "plan to do the right thing for our club as the legal process plays out."

The public isn't waiting. Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons and civil rights activist Al Sharpton were teaming up with officials from PETA on a joint letter sent to the Falcons, NFL and Vick's corporate sponsors, urging them to "stand up for what is right, and speak out against what is wrong." The letter read, in part, "Hurting animals for human pleasure or gain is despicable."

Cornwell said the league is unlikely to act before the courts this time, even though Goodell already suspended one repeat law-breaker -- Tennessee Titans defensive back Adam "Pacman" Jones -- before his most recent case was resolved.

Vick and three alleged business partners all were ordered to appear for arraignment on July 26 -- the same day the Falcons are scheduled to open training camp.